When James first considered quitting his job, we thought about moving to Costa Rica. We had wanted to travel there for a long time, hearing from friends and neighbors that it was a beautiful, peaceful place with a welcoming “pura vida” culture and plenty of good waves to surf. Of course, we made the sensible choice and moved to Carlsbad, a scenic beach city with a small-town feel and my retired parents (reliable babysitting!).

We still planned to go to Costa Rica. After a scary episode where Little J had to be taken to the E.R., I wasn’t sure if I could go to a place with limited emergency services and a lower standard of medical treatment. Although our daughter was fine, I had some pretty bad anxiety about the whole incident and was afraid of taking her places here, let alone a foreign country.

It was a battle between us, but in the end it was only my anxiety holding us back. We brought along everything we thought we might need, and chose places we felt were less remote. Fear can stop us in our tracks, but it can’t keep us from our dreams.

Hi there!

Hi, I’m Katie, a writer and mom to Little J. We live in coastal San Diego, where the beaches are gorgeous and kid-friendly too!

We’ve traveled to every beach in California to find the best beaches for babies and kids. We’ve picked up a few tips along the way too! We’re here to help you plan an easy, fun beach vacation with babies, toddlers or kids.